Beets are the Best!!

As a child I was a picky eater...many of you can probably relate. I would never have put something as "gross" as a beet in my mouth! Now that I am older and wiser however, and having tried many different varieties of beets, I have to say that one of my all time favorite veggies is the beet, especially, baby beets. And don't forget the beet greens, steamed and with lots of butter and salt and pepper...yum!   

We are finding that beets are a big seller too. Certain varieties, such as Detroit Dark Red, Golden Grex, and Cylindra sell very well. The Lutz Green Leaf Beet (middle photo) and Bulls Blood Beet (upper right photo) not quite as well and I am thinking that is because they are just not so well known as the others and maybe the Bulls Blood Beet just doesn't sound very appetizing (don't know who would have thought that one up!). So today I am promoting the Lutz Green Leaf beet.

To begin with beets are VERY healthy for you. They are high in fiber, vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, vitamin B6, phosphorus, and folate, as well as having antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and detoxification properties...in a nutshell... really good for you! Soooo...Lutz Green Leaf Beet...what can I say...probably the best tasting beet I have ever tried! It is definitely one of the sweetest I have eaten. And the best thing about this variety? We were picking and eating them in October. October?! Yup....they were big and ugly looking, but they did not get "woody tasting" like so many other varieties do! Definitely one of my top picks!